From the Ground Up
by JayHadd
Summary: After her escape from SH.I.E.L.D. headquarters, it was assumed she had died. However, when the Avengers discover that not only did she survive, but that she is more powerful than ever, it's up to them to keep her out of the wrong hands. Eighteen years after her disappearance, She's taken under their wing and given a chance at something she's never had- a family. BBxOC StevexOC
1. Chapter 1- Mother Earth

**A/N: **I don't own the Avengers; those guys belong to Marvel, unfortunately. It would be wonderful if I had my own personal Bruce Banner, but I only own the plotline and Gwen.

I've had this idea swirling around my head for a while. So the other night when I had a magnificent dream where I was in a romantic relationship with Bruce Banner, I just had to jot it down and formulate it into a completely different entity complete with violence, romance, mystery and suspense. So now here's the first complete chapter, I hope someone out there likes it!

The Earth breathes. She feels it, as it moves and shifts. Every inhale, every exhale, is etched into her thought. The warm crust cocooning her body slid, and cool air hit her back. Her eyes opened, and she felt surges of power that she had not felt for almost twenty years.

The pull returned to her core, and the rocks tightened around her once again.

A cool, female voice rang throughout Avengers Tower. "_All current members affiliated with the Avengers project are to report to room 4B for debriefing." _Tony Stark rubbed his temples. The acoustics in his newly renovated workshop made the normally smooth prerecorded message sound jolty and hollow. He ignored the summons and continued to tinker with the small circuit board in front of him. Small sparks burned his fingers as he poked and prodded the chips and wires. It had moved beyond the need to fix dummy (yet again) and now he was just keeping his mind busy as he tried to ignore the nagging feeling on the back of his neck.

"_Tony,"_ Pepper Potts stood in the glass doorway leading up to the first floor. She had her arms crossed. "Did you really think they were going to let you skip out on your first mission since New York?" She had a slight smile on her face, so Tony knew she wasn't _really _mad. He just threw his hands up in a shrug.

"It was worth a shot, anyway," He sighed. He grinned and Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Just get up there. I have to leave for an interview with a perspective client soon, so I can't take the wrap for you again." She leaned out the door and Tony watched her as she walked back up the glass staircase. Man, he was lucky. He grinned and propped his hands behind his head. That is, of course, before he remembered all of the burns and promptly cursed everything from the trees to Director Fury, and shot up from his seat.

The conference room was quiet. Director Fury stood staring at the wall behind the table that five of the six Avengers were seated. The large television behind him remained turned off. Thor sat in a relaxed position slid halfway down his chair. He picked at his fingernails and then sighed and looked at the wall opposite of Fury's fixation. Clint and Natasha sat rigidly in their chairs, neither looking around the room or at anyone else. Bruce pushed his glasses up his nose and shifted in his seat. Steve glanced at his comrades and sighed. An awkward few more seconds passed before the door opened and Fury addressed the latecomer. "Mr. Stark: So pleased that you finally decided to join us."

"Yeah, well, I figured what's a party without the entertainment?" Tony sat down next to his large Asgardian comrade. Thor nodded in his direction before turning back to the Director.

"Very cute. Now, if you will all turn your attention towards the screen," Fury clicked a button on the small remote he was holding and the television showed a picture of a young girl, aged no more than 10 or 11. She had dirty blonde hair and tanned skin. Her face showed no emotion. The thing that stark noticed most, however, was the peculiar colors of her eyes. Green, brown, and blue mixed in the irises very plainly, even in the old picture. The eyes were the only indication that this child was of any importance at all. Otherwise Stark wouldn't have paid attention the next words out of Fury's mouth- not like he ever did anyway.

"This girl may not look like much, but don't let that fool you. Her name is Gwen Nicholson. She was one of the most dangerous subjects on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar eighteen years ago." Fury paused to switch the screen to a video of the young girl. Before he could play it, Tony's hand shot up into the air. Fury sighed and nodded in his direction.

"Um, yes, while I am sure that this kid is some sort of crazy dangerous, why do we care if she was on the radar twenty years ago? I mean, didn't you guys nuke everything that was a potential threat back then?" Tony placed his head on his head and crossed his legs. "I mean," He continued, "Y'know." Steve slapped him upside the head.

Before he could protest, Fury cleared his throat and turned to the screen and hit the play button.

The video was grainy, but it was obvious that it was being filmed in some sort of testing facility. Three men in white hazmat suits were holding clipboards and looking into some sort of chamber. One wall was glass, but from what the team could see, the rest of the room was nothing but white walls. The film flickered, and then the scene switched to show a young Gwen Nicholson, probably age six or so, sitting in the middle of the empty white room. She held her knees close to her torso, and stared at the ground in front of her.

"_Now Gwen," _A voice crackled through an intercom, "_Can you behave long enough for us to bring you something to eat, sweetheart?"_

_ "Don't call me sweetheart." _Gwen's voice came through distorted, but it didn't sound fearful- more bored or tired. Bruce leaned closer to the screen as Gwen straightened her legs. As she stood up, he noticed a small waver, almost like a heat wave, surrounding her tiny body. It became softer and softer, until finally it disappeared. Bruce removed his glasses. He cleared his throat and the Director paused the video. Bruce waited a second, and then spoke

"Director Fury, do I need my glasses cleaned or was there something around her? Like a-… a shield? Or a force field?"

The director played the video again and responded, "Wait a few seconds, and you'll see."

The clip continued, and a small door opened in the white room. One of the hazmats walked in carrying a plastic tray of food. It jolted from his hand quickly, and froze in mid air. It didn't float; it just stuck there, almost like it was placed on an invisible table. Then, it flung itself toward the girl before halting abruptly by her shoulder. Nothing was spilled. The camera clicked, and then continued what appeared to be years later. The Gwen on the screen matched the picture the team was shown minutes previously. Her dirty blonde hair was longer and slightly waved, and she looked much better fed. She was wearing a white hospital gown.

"_Gwen,_"The same voice crackled over the intercom, "_We have tests to run today. Will you behave?_"

_ "No," _She responded. Bruce scoffed. Well, at least she was honest. Fury shot him a look and he focused his attention back on the screen.

"_Gwen,_" The intercom cackled, "_I do not believe you are in the position to be misbehaving._"

"_I'm in the position to do whatever I please._"

Then the screen flashed white, and the clip ended.

The team sat for a minute before Tony gracefully broke the silence. "What the hell?"

Fury responded to the philanthropist's question, "That is the last data record we have from subject Gaia, as she would come to be known."

"Mother Earth," Banner responded.

Fury nodded at the quiet scientist. "Correct. That field you noticed, Mr. Banner, is the subject manipulating the gravity around her into a nearly solid form. She can repel almost anything at speeds faster than most of your cars, Mr. Stark. She can also attract objects of small mass to her, and use them as shields. More than once she was shown to use the ground itself as a barrier, creating her own gravitational field around her and forming a crust and a mantle, if you will."

He paused, and Natasha repeated Bruce's earlier observation. "Mother Earth," she said with an amused tone.

"Do not be fooled by her appearance in the video, team. She is more dangerous than many gave her credit for, and thus she escaped. That day subject Gaia sank herself into the Earth, through multiple layers of concrete, steel, and iron. She hasn't been heard of since, and ten years ago she was labeled as terminated."

Thor straightened and placed his hands on the table. "But she is not terminated, yes?" He addressed Fury, "That is why you have gathered us, is it not?"

Fury nodded and continued his explanation.

"Two days ago a strange pulse emanated from somewhere in the Australian Outback. The pulse is nearly identical to the one recorded the day Subject Gaia escaped. The local news is chocking it up to a small earthquake, but our technology suggests otherwise. The frequencies don't quiet match up. The epicenter is too close to the surface. Now, that being said, this is simply a reconnaissance mission. It is not needed for all of you to fly out to Australia. I have chosen Dr. Banner and Agent Romanoff to investigate."

"Woah, woah, woah, there, Popeye," Tony interrupted, "Don't get me wrong, but are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, they'd have to use an airplane and that's just, you know, company resources right there. Not to mention," He paused, "What happens if this Earth girl decides to just, you know," He made a "zip" noise and crushed his hands together. "I don't like it."

"Thank you for the concern, Tony, but I'm sure Dr. Banner and I will be just fine on our own," The Black Widow responded a little bit blandly.

"_Not to mention_, "Fury interrupted sharply, "If my assumptions are correct, Gwen Nicholson has not seen a human being for almost twenty years. It would be better if we send a woman and someone who isn't going to try and seduce her or shoot her with an arc reactor blast,"

"Hey now! I am in a committed relationship-"

"And no offense to you, Captain, but she is old enough to know who you are. It might be a little off putting to send a super soldier in to what is supposed to only be an intelligence mission," Fury continued.

"Duly noted," Steve responded.

"The assignment is to go in, find out what you can, and if the girl decides to cooperate, bring her back to base so we can figure out what the hell is going on. Agent Romanoff, Dr. Banner: I suggest you start packing. You leave tomorrow morning at precisely 7:30 am. Good day, Avengers."

With that, Director Fury swept out of the room. Bruce sat in his chair rubbing his temples. It wasn't that he resented the mission- he loved finally _doing_ something- he just wasn't sure how well he and Natasha would work together. Besides the Avengers, they had never even fought in the same vicinity. Of course it made sense. Banner the scientist and Romanoff the woman (roughly). If anything strange were happening, he would pick up on it. And The Black Widow was known for dealing with sticky situations. If this girl was as unstable as Fury seemed to imply, then she might respind better to someone of her own gender.

Clint had been strangely quiet throughout the entire briefing. So had Thor, but Thor was focused on finding Jane- it was expected. Bruce had a feeling that it had something to do with the woman he was assigned to investigate with.

Bruce looked up and realized that everyone else had left the conference room. He had gotten lost in thought again. _Oh well,_ he thought, _not like anyone ever notices anyway._

The next morning Dr. Banner and Agent Romanoff climbed in the super helicopter destined to take them to the land down under. They didn't bring much. Banner brought a change of clothes, a pre powdered toothbrush, and a ballpoint pen. The clothes were just in case The Other Guy decided to show up, and the toothbrush because, well, Bruce Banner was a stickler for hygiene. Agent Romanoff brought only her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform and her weapons. She was currently dressed in civilian clothes, which privately Bruce thought made her look even more intimidating. She looked too innocent.

The ride took four hours. The Avengers were given nothing less than best, and apparently that meant military grade air travel. The closest airport was over 300 miles from where the epicenter of the strange vibration was thought to have been located, so the only option was parachuting down into the wild outback. Banner fastened his goggles and secured his back pack, and then looked down.

Man, was this not going to be fun.

He barely had time to take a breath before the pilot yelled something and he was shoved out of the chopper.

Not fun at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Wow! I can't believe the response I got on the first chapter. It's not, you know, super substantial, but it's way more than I expected. Any who, Gwen is being introduced soon. :D She's something else, let me tell you. Thank you to those who reviewed. It helps a lot in the writing process. On to the story!

* * *

Natasha Romanoff landed on the dusty red earth gracefully, looking semi deadly and wind blown. She straightened up, and looked at the vast expanse of land all around her. No, this was not going to be easy. Every direction looked nearly identical. She guessed the nearest civilized area was long out of walking distance. She peered into the sky and watched as Dr. Banner landed a few yards away from her. Unfortunately, Bruce didn't have the grace that the agent did, and he hit the ground with a sputter and a cough. He unclipped the hook holding the parachute and back pack to his body and kneeled on the ground.

"You'd think," He sounded slightly out of breath, "that after saving an entire city from giant worms and being thrown out of a giant air carrier that I would be able to sky dive a little bit better."

Natasha smiled and glanced at the care package that landed with a _thud_ not three feet away.

"Well, at least we're not going into this blind," She said as she pulled a seismograph out of the heavy industrial crate. The package also included a spare female S.H.I.E.L.D uniform, some crackers, two jugs of water, and a collapsible shovel. The Black Widow shoved most of the items into her backpack, and then threw the shovel at the still recovering doctor.

"Guess who's going to be doing the digging?" She asked.

Bruce sighed, and took his share of the crackers and one of the water jugs. All in a day's work, he supposed.

Nearly three hours had passed, and the seismograph still showed no sign of any oddities on the Australian surface. Bruce was getting frustrated. He pulled another cracker from the side pocket on his cargo shorts and nibbled a little on the edge. Natasha wasn't adding anything to assist the mission either. She just stared ahead and tried to make out any differences amongst the rocks and the wallabies.

"Aren't there supposed to be hundreds of deadly snakes roaming around out here?" She asked out loud.

Bruce glanced at their surroundings before responding, "Maybe they're all hidden under rocks or something." Now that Natasha had mentioned it, he hadn't seen a lot of wildlife since they landed. Then, he noticed a small lizard scurrying across their path.

"Let's go over that way a bit," He said. He pointed in the opposite direction that the reptile had come from. Weren't animals known for evacuating an area right before a disaster such as an earthquake or a hurricane? It wasn't much, but at least now they had some sort of a lead.

"Hey, where are all of my wallabies?" Natasha asked. Bruce could practically hear the gears turning in her head. The Black Widow may be intimidating and sarcastic, but she was also incredibly intelligent.

"You think she's over this way, don't you?" She inquired.

The doctor nodded. "In nature, animals tend to flee sights right before a disaster. Maybe they consider her a threat. Fury did say the locals believed they picked up a small earthquake," he explained, and he wrung his hands together nervously, "I don't know if I want to be right or wrong about this."

The red head nodded. It made sense, she reasoned. Maybe they were finally on to something.

It was another hour and a half before they finally came across something peculiar.

"Um, Bruce?" Natasha pointed to the ground in front of them, "Do you notice anything strange going on here?

The doctor stopped beside her and stared intently at the ground. Something was… weird. He just couldn't place his finger on it. He leaned down and placed his hand on the ground. There weren't any vibrations or weird pulses. He just couldn't seem to figure-

_Zzzzip!_

Bruce's pen, which he had pulled out of his pack and clipped to his shirt pocket, zoomed away from his body.

"Woah!" He backed up a few feel and looked around. His pen wasn't on the ground anywhere nearby.

"Bruce, look."

Bruce looked in her direction and noticed she was pointing to the zipper on her chest. Bruce's cheeks tinted a little pink, but he was more focused on what the zipper what doing. It was pointed straight in the direction his pen had flown off to.

It clicked. "What was one of the girl's powers in the video?"

Natasha squinted at him for a moment before her expression cleared and she answered, "Gravity field."

Bruce grinned and nodded. He could feel it, now that he was paying attention. All of the loose articles of clothing –shoe strings, shirts, zippers- were clinging just slightly in the direction they were walking. Looks like things were finally speeding up.

Of course, he didn't realize that "speeding up" meant really _"speeding up."_

They walked about 200 yards when they began to notice their feet slipping.

"Ah, Bruce? Is this normal?" The agent had begun sliding along the ground, and before long she noticed what was wrong about their surroundings. The dirt, the rocks, the brush- all of it had left a path from where it had been dragged towards the source of the field.

Bruce gave a start and before he knew it, he had fallen on the ground. "No," he said, "But I guess it's faster than walking." Natasha, not wanting to lose her dignity, sat on the ground of her own accord and attempted to keep straight as she drew her weapon.

Soon, it became clear that the field wasn't growing much stronger than when they had started to be pulled in. It wasn't like being pulled toward a magnet. The strength was completely consistent as the two Avengers warily approached their target.

"Ugh," Natasha grunted, "I'm going to have to bleach these pants."

Bruce laughed before he ran over a patch of gravel.

Quickly, the two realized that it wasn't a patch.

Shit.

Bruce tried to stand up, but it was like the time he had attempted to learn skateboarding when he was a teen. He couldn't seem to find any amount of balance and he just fell right back down into the position he was in. His arms had multiple cuts and bruises on them, and he could only imagine what his backside looked like.

Natasha shouted over the sound of their bodies being beaten to a pulp by the earth. "Guess we know where all the rocks went!"

"I- ouch!" Large rock. That hurt. His back pack bumped the back of his head. Back pack?

"Back pack! Use your pack to sit on!" He shouted. Duh, Banner. Where are all those brains God gave you? Or- Odin. Whatever.

Natasha rolled her eyes. How could they not have thought of this before? The packs were literally ten pounds. She maneuvered the bag off of her shoulders and sat on it like a knee board. Bruce was having a little bit of trouble, so she scooted over (with some difficulty) and helped him get situated.

"Thanks," He breathed. The Black Widow simple nodded and squinted into the horizon.

After fifteen minutes of agonizing waiting, they finally stopped- sort of.

"Woah!" Bruce exclaimed for the second time. They began to move in an elliptical sort of formation. They were flung one way, then the opposite way, then the opposite way again until- nothing. The pull stopped.

"What the-" Natasha began. Then the earth beneath them cracked, and they were flown twenty feet in either direction.

Bruce's head hurt. It really hurt. His legs hurt. His eyes hurt. And most importantly, his heart rate was up. This was not good. Bruce tried to breathe normally, but it was hard. The Other Guy was starting to creep towards his skin. He could almost hear him roaring. Bruce grabbed his sides and focused on something, anything, to keep from sifting. The mission. The little girl. He had to find her.

The edge was lessening. He could feel his heart rate drop. The anger and desire to attack whatever had thrown him was dissipating. Bullet dodged.

Then a shadow fell over him. First he thought it was Natasha, but then he smelled something he thought was rain and burning rock. He smelled wood and grass and flowers. But this was Australia, so of course he must be losing his mind. Then he opened his eyes.

Gwen Nicholson stood above him. She was still wearing the tattered hospital gown she had escaped in, but it barely reached the top of her thighs. He also noticed it was much tighter and had dinosaurs printed on it.

Her dirty blonde hair was longer and matted with dirt, and her skin was slightly darker (probably from dirt), but it was no doubt Gwen Nicholson staring down at him. But she was no eleven year old girl. This Gwen had to be almost thirty- which makes sense, seeing as she escaped almost twenty years ago. Bruce just kind of expected her to be frozen in time or something. That was a stupid mistake.

"Who are you?" She spoke very deliberately, with a slight Australian accent. He supposed she had picked it up from her years under the Aussie surface. Her hand was outstretched toward him, in a "stop" gesture. Bruce knew she was pointing a weapon at him.

He heard Natasha groan from almost sixty feet away. Gwen's head snapped in her direction, and Bruce spoke quickly to regain her attention.

"My name-" She snapped her head back at him as he spoke, "My name is Bruce Banner." He slowly started to rise and she pointed her other hand at his chest. He stopped abruptly. "No! No, I'm a friend. We're friendly. Look, I don't even have any weapons," He proceeded to straighten up very slowly and turn in a circle. The girl began to lower her hands. He noticed as he stood that she was much smaller than she should have been. She couldn't have been taller than five feet.

"Who sent you here?" She demanded. He saw fire glint in her eyes and he knew he was in trouble. Natasha still wasn't up and he wasn't sure how to explain that he was taking Gwen back to the very place she had escaped from.

"Before I answer that, do you know what year it is?" The scientist questioned.

Gwen looked unsure. She pressed her lips together for a second before shrugging her shoulders and asking, "2011?"

Bruce smiled and answered, "It's 2013, but at least you aren't too far behind."

"I check in every now and then." Her posture relaxed. Bruce knew the peace wouldn't last long.

He looked at her in the eye before glancing over her shoulder to see Natasha stirring from the ground.

"How much do you know about S.H.I.E.L.D?"

And suddenly he was on his back again. Well, at least he knew what to expect.

* * *

Well, this one was kind of short, but I promise the next one will be extra long to make up for it. ;D I just made it to a good transition sooner than I needed to. Leave a review if you feel like it!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I don't own the avengers. However, I DO own Gwen and the original elements of her storyline. This story will use pieces of the real marvel universe, and those pieces belong to Marvel. The movie adaption of the Avengers belongs to the glorious Joss Whedon.**

Here's Chapter 3! I have to say, this one was kind of hard to get out. Gwen's turning out to have a really strong personality, and it's hard to make her seem like the lost and confused earthworm that she is! That being said, enjoy!**  
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* * *

"Oh! Rats, I am so sorry," Gwen rushed over to where Bruce was lying and held out her hand. He just stared at her as she continued to talk, "I just- you mentioned S.H.I.E.L.D. and I guess I accidentally freaked out- I just- I know it's under new management and I figured you guys would come get me eventually but I didn't expect this reaction and…" She continued to ramble apologies and explanations as she forced Bruce to his feet. She was incredibly strong. Bruce "oomfed" as he landed. He tried to dust himself off as she continued to talk.

"I guess I just didn't even realize what would happen when you got here- oh my God is she okay? I'm so sorry I didn't- I thought you guys were bounty hunters or something!" She finally stopped to catch a breath and stared at Bruce with her hands on her head. You'd think she had just won a marathon with the way she was breathing. "I guess that was a silly thought. I just panicked I suppose!" Her hands fluttered around him like she was trying to dust him off. He lifted his arms and squirmed out of her reach.

Bruce waited a few seconds before asking, "So… You knew we were coming?" He squinted his eyes at her before continuing, "You said- you said you'd been checking in?" He didn't understand. He thought for sure that they were dealing with something completely unstable and dangerous. He definitely wasn't expecting this frazzled tiny little woman. The Earth rumbled.

"I- oh, sorry, that was me- I guess I just got tired of staying crunched up in the dirt, y'know? And I'd been keeping an eye on what had been going on. It's very easy to tap into things under there. I looked into S.H.I.E.L.D. about two years ago and was pleasantly surprised. I had been waiting so long. I knew as soon as I forced my way to the surface that they would know where I was. I had to wait until I liked what was happening," Gwen lowered her hands and crossed them in front of her body. She was suddenly self conscious about the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra.

Bruce noticed. He remembered Natasha and her extra shield uniform. "Oh!" He exclaimed. Now that he knew Gwen wasn't a threat, he could jog over to where the Black Widow was still stationed on the ground. She still hadn't stirred and Bruce was worried. That is, until he saw her open one eye.

"So I guess it's cool if I stand up now?" She murmured. The agent had obviously been waiting and assessing the situation.

Bruce scoffed- so much for worrying about her. "Yeah, Gwen's been waiting for us, apparently. She's also still wearing her hospital gown."

"Ahh. That's no good. Hospital gowns are so out of style," Natasha deadpanned. She shifted to her feet and Bruce extended his hand to help. She rolled her eyes before taking it. Natasha looked around as she popped her back and neck. Her pack had landed about thirty feet to her right. Bruce glanced nervously over at Gwen as he followed the red head. As they made their way over to the bag of supplies, Natasha noticed the small figure in her peripheral vision watching them. Natasha didn't turn to make eye contact- no need in scaring the girl away. As she picked up the bag and jimmied the zipper open, she felt a slight pull on the straps. When it became stronger, she let it go.

The bag zoomed over to where Gwen was standing. She had one arm outstretched: the other was covering her chest. Natasha smiled in spite of herself. Gwen had almost the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. taskforce in a tizzy, and here she was worrying about her appearance.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

Natasha turned to look at the scientist that had appeared at her side.

"She's something else, all right," she responded. The two turned around to give the girl some privacy.

"You know what the first thing she said to me was after she knocked me back the second time?" He mused.

"What?"

"'Rats'. I didn't even know that was a thing anymore," the scientist crossed his arms, "Also, she's tiny. Being in the Earth curled up like she was must have stunted her growth."

"Maybe it's genetic," Natasha suggested, "We don't know anything about her parents." She was right. Bruce decided they would do a little more research when they returned to Avengers Tower.

A throat cleared behind them. As they turned, it was all Bruce could do to contain the giggle that threatened to burst from his lips.

Gwen was wearing the uniform, but barely. The sleeves hung off her hands and the pants legs crumpled up so badly at the bottom that she had to shuffle when she walked. Natasha noted that while she was extremely short, she at least filled out the chest fabric enough for the built in bra to work.

"Who works at S.H.I.E.L.D now- giants?" Gwen asked. Her nose crinkled up and she frowned down at herself.

Natasha glanced at Bruce, "Well, you aren't too far off," she chuckled, "Here, we can roll everything up."

As the agent proceeded to help the strange girl fit a little better into her borrowed clothes, Bruce wondered how in the world they were going to get back to the states. He shoved his hands in his pockets. Not only did they give them nothing to go on to find this weird little thing, now all three of them were stuck here until S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to pick them up? That didn't quite seem to match how Fury liked to do things.

"There, all good. Sort of," Natasha stepped back and Bruce looked up at the now slightly less ridiculous looking Gwen. Her hair was still dirty and matted, but some of the dirt had come off her face and the uniform fit a lot better than that hospital gown, anyway. Bruce blushed. Those weren't the kinds of things he should be thinking, now, of all times. He cleared his throat and the two girls looked up.

"How exactly are we supposed to be getting out of here?" He asked.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Natasha responded. With that, she pinched the lapel on her shirt. A red light started blinking through the fabric.

Not thirty seconds later, a helicopter appeared in the distance.

"Well Gwen," Natasha said, "You ready to face the new world?"

Gwen pressed her lips together and for the first time, she looked genuinely worried.

* * *

Gwen couldn't believe her eyes. The world had changed so much in the years she had been submerged underneath the surface. Manhattan was magical. The buildings were so much taller, things were flying everywhere, and it was much cleaner than when she ran through it as a toddler. Of course, all of her memories of the outside world occur before the age of four, so she could just not have realized what an incredible place she was in. She watched out the helicopter doors as the aircraft made its way towards a large tower. She felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Bruce.

"That's the Avengers headquarters!" He shouted over the chopper blades.

"Avengers?" She shouted back.

"You'll see!" He sat back in his chair and strapped in for the landing. Gwen did the same.

If Gwen was amazed by the outside of the tower, she was even more amazed by the inside. As soon as they vacated the chopper, agents in uniforms identical to her bustled around and helped them carry things and ran off in all directions. As they descended the stairs from the roof and reached the top floor of the building, she saw all sorts of holograms and things she thought only happened in _Back to the Future_. Even the elevator they took to go down to their destination moved so fast that she had to cling to the bar rail or else she thought she would fall. The red headed woman (Natasha?) assured her that it was entirely safe. Gwen let go of the rail, but slowly. Then the elevator stopped.

The three of them exited to meet two more people dressed in the same clothes Gwen was: a man and a woman. Bruce and Natasha nodded at them and the three of them were escorted down the hall. This floor, unlike the top one, had no holograms. All Gwen could see were endless amounts of numbered doors.

They stopped in front of one that was slightly ajar. Gwen was suddenly nervous. She hesitated as her two companions started to head into the room.

Bruce noticed her uneasiness. "Hey," he started, "don't worry. A lot of things have changed. Fury can be intimidating, but he just wants to talk," He reassured her.

She gulped. "For now," she mumbled.

"For now," He agreed.

Gwen took a deep breath and entered the room with Bruce close at her heels.

Gwen stopped almost as soon as she saw the people assembled at the curved table in front of her. They included a guy dressed like he was going to a Nordic costume convention, a man who looked like he could have been a young Hugh Hefner type, a modern day robin hood, Natasha, and… _Captain America?_ She just stared until a throat cleared from her right and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to see a tall black man wearing a black trench coat and a matching eye patch.

"Uh…." She blubbered. Bruce put his hand on her shoulder and then went to rest on the edge of the table with his arms crossed. "So… Hi… there," Gwen finished lamely.

"Ms. Nicholson, I have heard a lot about you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Director Fury. I head most of the operations here at S.H.I.E.L.D., and I'm responsible for fetching you from the great down under. The other members of the team can introduce themselves to you at a later time. Please have a seat," Fury nodded to the empty chair in between Natasha and the Norwegian Superstar. Gwen stumbled slightly on her way to her chair, but managed to make it safely to the table without falling or embarrassing herself. He crossed her hands nervously on her lap and looked back up at the Director.

One she was situated, he continued, "No doubt you are aware that we have no intention of locking you in a room and making you wear a dinosaur printed hospital gown." Gwen smiled slightly and gave a shaky nod. When Fury didn't speak again, she cleared her throat.

"Um, yes. I was hoping you could… help me," She shifted her gaze around the room to see everyone staring at her. Bruce gave her an encouraging smile and she blushed before continuing, "I didn't know how to contact you without putting myself on the radar. I am not… I know that there are other people who want something like me on their team-"

"Woah, hey," Stark interrupted, "We don't like the phrase 'thing' here when talking about people."

"That's right," Bruce nodded, "Trust me on this one." Natasha smiled sadly in his direction.

"Regardless, I did not go and get you all the way from Australia to lock you in a cage. I'm going to be putting you to good use," Fury explained, "This time around, I want to train you, make you a part of our organization. Avengers-" the team lifted their heads at the address- "I am making it your official duty to assimilate Ms. Nicholson to our world. A lot has changed. Captain, you know better than anyone." Steve nodded. Fury continued, "This is all of the information we have on Operation Gaia," He tossed a manila folder on the table, and Gwen jumped slightly. "Read with caution," His last words left an ominous echo in the room as he exited into the hallway.

There was a moment of extremely awkward silence before someone finally spoke.

"So…"

Gwen looked to see the Robin Hood type leaning in her direction. He continued to speak, "Gwen, huh? Nice to meet you. The name's Clint Barton. You can just call me Clint." He reached his hand out and she grasped it quickly before letting go.

"Hello," She murmured.

The big blonde Nord stood and bowed deeply. Gwen was a little taken aback. "I am Thor Odinson, of Asgard. It is a pleasure to meet you, Earth Woman," He said. Thor straightened up and Gwen looked at Bruce with an expression that clearly said she thought the Asgardian was mental. Bruce just smiled and nodded.

Gwen turned around and faced the cocky looking playboy man. He was busy playing with his sunglasses.

"Um…" She started.

"Oh! Where are my manners? Tony Stark, m'dear," He reached out and grabbed her hand before planting a kiss on her knuckles. Gwen drew her hand back with an confused smile on her face. Steve scoffed.

"Uh, thanks, I think," Her face screwed up in concentration before the name clicked in her head, "Oh! Like Stark Enterprises?" She asked.

"Yep," Tony responded, "Wait till you see what we've been up to." He gave her a wink and she felt pink twinge her cheeks before she was interrupted by another voice.

"Captain Steve Rogers at your service, ma'am," The tall blonde also stood, but he simply nodded in her direction and grabbed the manila folder in front of her.

"I know who you are," She blurted out. The team looked at her in interest. Natasha raised an eyebrow. Her face went red and she tried to cover up for her outburst. "I- uh… I used.. to have… your.. trading cards…" Her voice was so quiet by the end of the sentence that she sounded like a mouse. Her voice even cracked.

The entire room was silent. She was expecting uproarious laughter or some teasing jokes, but everyone just looked… sad.

Bruce took off his glasses. Tony, Natasha and Clint just stared anywhere but at the little woman sitting at the table. Thor fiddled with his hammer.

Steve, however, managed a smile and said, "I'm very flattered. You know, I used to have a friend who had a vintage set of those things. He was so proud of them," the Captain chuckled, "I'll never forget how he looked when he would tell people about the perfect condition they were in and how cool he thought they were."

"Oh," Gwen smiled, "He sounds nice. Do you still keep in touch?"

"No, but how about I tell you that story another time?"

"Oh, uh, that sounds… nice."

"She's only been here five minutes and you're already trying to take her on a date, Steve, shame on you," Natasha joked. Everyone laughed at Gwen's red face and Steve just rolled his eyes.

The entire room relaxed. The tension almost visibly left the air. Tony decided a little lightening up was in order.

"Hey! I've got an idea," He exclaimed. Everyone but Gwen looked at him warily. "It's a good one this time, I promise."

Clint scoffed. "That's what you said about shwarma and I couldn't eat for a week-"

"Welcoming party! You know, For Gwen. We'll have a little get together with all of the agents and whoever else wants to come that's security approved. The first floor living quarters are huge enough. Drink a little, laugh a little. I'm sure Pep would love to meet _you._"

Tony directed the last part at Gwen, who got a look of pure panic on her face before shrugging and stuttering, "Uh, sure? A party might be… fun?"

Tony did a fist pump. The rest of the group groaned. Natasha actually put her head in her hands. Gwen felt like she had just made a horrible mistake.

"Great!" Tony stood and turned to leave before turning around again and addressing the entire room with his index finger, "Tomorrow night, eight O'clock. Don't be late."

Bruce leaned in and whispered in her ear, "You have no idea what you've just gotten all of us into." Gwen could hear the joke in his tone, but she still gulped.

Did she just agree to a party not twelve hours after digging herself up from the ground?

What was she, nuts?

* * *

So, that one probably didn't go the way anyone was anticipating, myself included. Reviews are greatly appreciated- I could use some constructive (_constructive_) criticism. Next chapter is Gwen's first party, and some interesting people are mentioned!

If you do review, try and give me an idea of how I'm doing on character development. I feel weird about a lot of things.


	4. Chapter 4- Harry What's-His-Name

**A/N: **First off, no party in this chapter. :( It ended up waaaayyyy longer than I had intended, and I had to get some fluff in there before I went and ruined everyone's days. I'm still very happy with the tone of this, though. :)

**ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE: **This started out as a Bruce Banner Romance thing, but now that Gwen is here and I'm writing her, I've realized she's going to make my life extremely difficult. Therefore, this story can now go one of three ways: No Romantic Interest, Romance with Bruce, or Romance with Steve. Also I have decided that from now one unless I get at least **THREE ** reviews, I'm not updating the chapter. It's very difficult to write a story like this without feedback. I really hope I don't lose the few followers I have by changing these couple of things, but I like the story so far and I'm willing to risk it to make Gwen happy (that selfish prude).

Anyhow, on to the story!

* * *

Gwen had been sitting in her newly assigned room for about thirty minutes, staring out the window at the city below. The room wasn't anything special. It was comprised of white walls, beige carpet, and a bed. If she had any clothes at all she would have been bothered by the lack of a dresser, but as luck would have it she currently only owned a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform that was much too big and a dinosaur printed hospital gown that was much too small.

"Lord, child, you look a straight mess," a voice caused Gwen to start and turn around. The intruder was a slightly heavyset black woman in her early to mid forties. She wore a completely black pantsuit and matching black heels. Her sleek hair was pulled tightly into a French twist on the back of her head, and her lips were painted a deep burgundy. Other than that her face seemed to be clean of make up. Gwen thought she looked quite classy.

"Um, who are you?" Gwen asked.

"Olive Hutchison, at your service," Olive pronounced every syllable with flair. She closed the door way before continuing, "I'm here to fix you up. Goodness me, look at this disaster." She tsk'd as she proceeded to lift up random strands of Gwen's hair. If Gwen hadn't just been fished up from the Earth's crust, she might have been offended. But this Olive woman seemed so genuine that Gwen just humored her as she continued to poke and prod around Gwen's head and nails.

Thirty minutes later, Olive had Gwen lying back in a portable salon station. Her head was in a basin of water to soften up all the dirt and debris, and her nails were being buffed and polished by the amusing woman who had not stopped jabbering since the process had begun.

Once Olive paused to take a breath, Gwen asked, "So, do you work for S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Olive scoffed and shook her head before musing, "Not really anymore. I used to be an agent, but I left not too long after that Captain man got himself fished up outta the ocean. Now they call me in when things need fixin'up or redecoratin'. Better to have a former agent who knows all the secrets be proddin' around than some no good busy body, I suppose," She placed Gwen's hands under two heat lamps and then continued, "Now I run my own salon and interior design company. It's nice and quiet, just like I like it."

Gwen leaned back as the woman drained the dirty water from the basin her hair was floating in. She closed her eyes as she felt a warm spray of water hit her scalp. "What did you do at S.H.I.E.L.D?" Gwen inquired. She felt like she was being nosey, but she didn't really have anything else to talk about and she was bored.

"Research science, mostly. Never really went out into the field much. I did a lot of research on what S.H.I.E.L.D. likes to call 'people of special interest.' That's you," She sounded amused, more than anything. Gwen felt a cold spot of something on her scalp before she felt Olive scrubbing out the rest of the mess. Gwen guessed this was shampoo. She had never had someone else wash her hair before. It was weird.

"Hm," Olive mumbled something and Gwen arched her neck a little to look back at the sassy woman.

"What?"

"How do you feel about a little hair bleach, honey?"

Gwen wasn't sure how to respond.

Two hours and fifteen minutes later Gwen was clean and wrapped in a fluffy bath towel. Her hair had been painstakingly dried, and Olive was pleased to find that without all the dirt and mud caked in the strands, Gwen's hair now fell in gentle waves down her back. Olive had lightened up the dirty blonde to a much healthier, brighter shade and cut off a lot of the dead ends that had accumulated over the years. Now the length was just below her shoulders. Gwen liked it.

"Alright sweetie," Olive said as she packed up her portable beauty shop, "I'm gonna be right back with some clothes that you can wear. You won't get a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform for a while since they all have to be custom fitted, but I'll see what I can do baby, okay?"

"Okay," Gwen smiled shyly from her seat on the bed as Olive backed out of the room. When the door closed with a snap, Gwen stood slowly and walked to the full length mirror Olive had discovered on the inside of her closet door.

It was times like these that Gwen was glad she remained semi conscious throughout her time cocooned in the dirt. She couldn't imagine waking up with the mentality of a ten year old and the body of a 28 year old. Now that the dirt had been scrubbed away, Gwen could see that the tan she had when she was younger had paled just a little bit. She was sure it would be back as soon as she started spending more time outside. Her hair looked wonderful. She had always hated the mousy blonde color when she was younger. This was much better. Gwen smiled. Olive was wonderful. Gwen hoped she would see more of her after today.

Gwen heard a small knock at the door. Speak of the devil, as they say. Do people still say that? Gwen frowned a little to herself. She would have to get some lessons on the modern lingo.

"Hey, I was just letting you know-" Gwen turned in shock to the very not-Olive voice that rang through her room. She also shrieked and ducked behind the bed at the very not-Olive Steve Rogers that had frozen in shock at the sight of her in a towel.

"Oh- I just- My apologies Ma'am- I would never-" Steve stammered. "Uh- We're all eating dinner if you wanted to join!" He practically shouted the last part before running out the door. Olive stood in the doorway after watching him practically sprint down the hall.

"Goodness me, you would think he had never seen a woman in a towel before," She shut the door behind her and paused before adding, "Actually, you know what, he might not have."

Gwen laughed nervously and looked at the clothes Olive had brought up for her to choose from. Among them were a green plaid button up and some jean shorts. Gwen picked them up and Olive laughed.

"Girl, I knew you were a lumberjack at heart," she mused. Gwen smiled. "Well, don't go oogling at me, get some clothes on, you naked thing," Olive shooed her into the bathroom.

Gwen shut the door behind her. She tossed the clothes on the porcelain toilet lid and flopped on the edge of the matching bathtub. This was all happening so fast. There were so many new people! Gwen had already forgotten half of the names of the people she had met. It had only been, what, twelve hours? Twenty four hours? Gwen put her head in her hands. God, help her. And now she was being invited to eat dinner with six people she barely knew. Gwen hadn't eaten in almost _twenty years. _She wasn't even sure she needed food. She ate before her escape, but what if her body had learned to do photosynthesis or something weird like that? She was sure they all already thought she was a freak and now she wasn't even sure if she could eat dinner!

"Honey, you okay in there?" Olive called through the white door.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed."

"Well take your time, I'll make sure those rascals leave you a little something to eat, okay, baby?"

Gwen smiled again, "That would be… very nice, please," Gwen decided she liked Olive very much.

Gwen listened for the shut of the door that had indicated the stylist had left. She took a deep breath. _I can do this, right?_ She asked herself, _Just a bunch of superheroes. No big deal._

She quickly got dressed and left to try and find the rest of her new flat mates.

It wasn't difficult. The living room was just around the corner from all of the bedrooms, and the kitchen was directly connected to it. Plus she could hear Thor yelling all the way across the compound.

"WHERE IS THE MAYONAISSE?"

"For the last time, it's MAY-OH-NAYS. Not MA-YO-NEESE."

"Besides I think your peanut butter sandwich would taste better without it-"

"Guys, I just want my leftover ravioli. C'mon," That was Natasha's voice, Gwen recognized it.

"Fiiiiine, puny mortal, I will consume my meal without mayo-nace paste."

"_MAY-OH-NAYS._"

Gwen paused outside the door as the playboy (whose surname she knew was Stark but she couldn't remember his first name) corrected Thor for a second time. The kitchen was fairly large and thank God for that, because otherwise it would have been a complete and utter mess. Even so, everyone seemed to be having a good time getting their food together. Gwen was glad she wasn't late. The Captain noticed her entrance and blushed before clearing his throat and walking into the living area. Gwen crinkled her eyebrows together. She was going to have to talk to him. It wasn't _that _big of a deal.

"Gwen!" Stark had noticed her. He walked forward with his arms outstretched before casually placing one of them over her shoulder.

Gwen's cheeks tinged pink and she politely moved his hand before asking, "So… do we have any thing good to eat here or…?"

"Pfft," Gwen turned to see Clint (she remembered his name now that she saw his face) sitting on the counter. He continued, "Name something. I bet we have it here somewhere."

"Just do not ask for may-oh-ness," Thor added as he shuffled to join Steve in the living room, "It is clear that we do not have any here." Tony face palmed at the mispronunciation.

"You know what?" He said, "I'm not even going to try anymore. How about a sandwich? Do you like sandwiches?"

Gwen shifted uneasily on her bare feet. "I don't… know?"

"How about we start your body off with something simple," Bruce piped up as he entered the kitchen, "Like… ah hah. Here we go," He tossed something at Gwen. She fumbled, but managed to keep it from hitting the ground. It was an orange. "We need to make sure you actually eat," He continued. Gwen scrunched up a face. Leave it to Bruce to reveal all of her insecurities to the world.

"C'mon, rock star, we're all watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Bring your orange," The playboy steered her into the living room as he spoke. _Tony, _Gwen suddenly remembered.

Of course, Bruce sat down in one of the only available seats in front of the huge television screen. Gwen was sure he didn't do it on purpose, but the only seat left was between him and Steve. Steve noticed and he shifted uncomfortably on the white leather couch and cleared his throat. She rolled her eyes and sat down. She tried not to marvel at how freaking humongous the television was (and it's _flat_, that's _weird_) and sat back to enjoy Harry What's-his-name and the whatever-it-is.

Of course halfway through the movie Gwen noticed Steve trying as hard as he could to weld himself to the arm rest on his other side, and Bruce sitting there completely oblivious to the fact that his arm was resting on the couch behind her. Gwen sat there picking at her still not eaten orange, and had no idea what was going on in the movie because Tony and Natasha kept arguing about who the apparent female lead should have ended up with and Thor kept asking what was going on.

And once again, Gwen had the unfortunate luck of realizing she wasn't wearing a bra. She was just lucky her chest was medium-sized and the shirt was huge and flannel. Her face flushed in the dark. She needed to get some clothes.

Before Gwen had even realized it, the credits were flying across the screen to some orchestra tune she was sure played almost the entire movie. Banner looked down at her orange. "You know, oranges usually taste better without the peel. And you have to actually, you know, eat it," He teased.

Gwen chuckled. "I guess," She said, "I'll work up the courage eventually." She snuck a peek at Steve. "Hey, uh, Captain America?" He looked up at her with a surprised look on his face. "I- uh- noticed on the way here that your room is right next to mine… everyone else's are in the other wing… And I'm not sure how to get back," She knew it was mean. She knew he was uncomfortable. But she also knew she really was lost and he couldn't avoid her forever.

"Uh… Yeah. Yeah, I can do that," He looked absolutely flustered.

"Neato," Gwen responded. Tony laughed, and she turned to him and demanded, "What's so funny?"

"No one says 'neato' anymore, sweet cheeks. Or coolio, or rad, or whatever else you think is still in style," He chuckled.

Gwen's face turned red and she scowled at him. Before she could make a retort, Bruce responded, "Ah, she'll learn," and ruffled her newly bleached hair.

"Hey, Olivia worked really hard on that!"

"Who's Olivia?" Thor and Clint asked at the same time.

"You don't want to know," Natasha responded. Clint just shrugged and Thor looked confused.

"Well my friends, while this has been an eventful and slightly overwhelming day, I believe I am going to retire," Thor said. Gwen felt like he was trying to cover up for the Olivia thing.

"Yeah, me too," Bruce responded. He stood and stretched his arms over his head. "See you guys in the morning."

"You guys are all lame. No one wants to stay up late and tell scary stories?" Tony complained, "Gwen?"

"Uh," Gwen started.

"If Gwen still wants an escort, I'm about to head to my room also," Steve interrupted. Gwen shot him a grateful look and let him take the lead. Before she left she heard Tony make one last appeal.

"What about you, Hawky?"

She heard a sigh. "Fine."

The first five minutes of walking behind Steve was awkward. He didn't talk or try to make eye contact, he just maintained a steady gaze on the halls ahead of him. The next five were irritating. It's not like she was going to try to steal his virtue or anything. Sure, she wasn't exactly the most naïve person on the planet due to her constant check-ins on the surface, but she certainly wasn't anywhere near as knowledgeable as she should be about… things. Her face flushed and she stared at the floor.

Then she hit Steve's back and almost fell on the floor.

"Oh, are you okay?" He turned around and caught her arm before quickly letting go. "Uh, this is my room. I guess yours is a couple of doors down?"

"That sounds about right," She answered. He nodded and started to turn the handle to his room. "Wait- Steve," She started. He stopped and turned to look at her. "Just, uh, chill out, okay? No more awkward. So you walked in on me wearing a towel," his face flushed at her words but other than that he betrayed no emotion. She continued, "But if you haven't noticed, I'm _tiny._ Trust me, you didn't see anything you wouldn't see in a frumpy sleeveless dress."

He gave a small smile. "I'm just used to more respect than is common these days, ma'am," He explained. Then he entered his room and shut the door. Gwen just hoped one of the other doors ended up being hers.

When she finally did find her room (She only knew because of the dirt everywhere and the hospital gown) she flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Apparently, being stuck in the ground for two decades can really tire someone out. Within minutes, she fell asleep.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, another woman pulled herself out of the Earth. Her skin bubbled red-hot with magma, and her hair flicked with flames. As she stood carefully, she examined the ruined town around her and smiled. She noticed movement in one of the buildings.

One sole man remained alive, and she blasted the rubble from his back. She recognized him as the mayor. He yelped and looked up at her shakily.

"Marsha? What- what are you? What happened to you?!" He cried. He shielded his face from her.

The fire in her eyes blazed white and she burned a hole through the collar of his shirt.

"Run, little worm," she whispered, "Run and tell them what _Volcana_ has done to your precious little town." The mayor continued to stare, and the woman's face contorted with anger.

"Marsha-"

"_RUN YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL!_" Flames almost devoured the wretch, but she kept them close to her.

She watched as the pathetic little man ran in whatever direction he could. She smiled, her anger dissipating. _Yes_, she thought, _let them come_.

_Let them come._

* * *

**_A/N:_**I would also like to point out that while I am taking things from the movies and the comics (Volcana is a real villainess, S.H.I.E.L.D. is technically located in Manhattan) I take a lot of creative license sometimes. If any of you guys think I should change something or have any tips, I would appreciate them.

again, _**REVIEW!**_


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